Expectation vs. Reality

A move to a foreign country always takes getting used to. Luckily for both Megan and I we have both been out of the country before. She has been on international internships to Africa (2 weeks), Romania (4 months), and Peru (3 times for a total of 4 months), and I served a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Argentina. However, this time around it's much different since we have a 4 month old daughter. It's a little tougher to transition. It's harder when, instead of worrying just about yourself, you have to worry about your wife and baby and make sure they are always safe. But, God inspired us to come here so I have confidence that He will protect them while I am in medical school. 

Before deciding to come to the island of St. Maarten, I did plenty of research in order to make sure that it would be a good place for my family and I. I read lots of blogs, Facebook posts, information from the school, etc. and nothing scared me away. What it did, though, was create a lot of expectations. So here is a list of a few of my expectations along with the realities that I discovered once I actually arrived here.....

1. Expectation: "3rd world" living conditions. Reality: There is a good amount of "3rd world" living with poorly constructed houses, unclean water, poor sewage system, no air conditioning, etc. but there is also a high quality of living standard as well. It's not a great idea to drink unfiltered water anywhere on the island, but there are some very nice resorts, houses, etc. The average person on the island enjoys a high standard of living, but it is well below the average standard of living in the United States. Many have air conditioning units, cars, internet, cable TV like what you would expect in the States. Here, reality was about what I expected. I find average island life very comparable to what I experienced in Argentina for 2 years as a missionary. 
2. Expectation: I thought I would have to part with my "American Items" such as raspberry jam, burritos, tools, etc. Reality: I should've left a bunch of stuff home...they have almost everything here! Sure it's a little bit more expensive than back home, but you can find it if you know where to look! They have grocery stores like Cost-u-less that is exactly like Costco (they even sell Costco and Sam's Club brand items) and LeGrand Marche which is like a typical grocery store back home. Or Ace and Kooyman are just like Home Depot. They even have a Bebe 'n Kids which has everything you would find at Babies 'R Us. Again, everything is a little bit more expensive, but it's not too bad.  
3. Expectation: Really slow internet. Reality: It's not too bad. It's harder to stream videos on YouTube, Netflix, or WatchESPN, but for everything else it's really not that bad. The hardest part is getting internet into the back room because all of the walls are made of concrete haha.
4. Expectation: Tons of mosquitoes. Reality: the real pest (at least in our apartment) is sugar ants. They come from nowhere! No matter how well we clean the kitchen, put up baby powder around the edges (supposedly it works haha), we still squish about 20 every day. We even live on the lagoon side which is supposed to have tons of mosquitoes. However, we found that by cleaning up the dead leaves and standing water around our apartment we have drastically decreased the amount of mosquitoes. We also try to keep our apartment enclosed as much as possible and use AC instead of open windows. It's too hot to keep the windows open anyways, but if we did we would have to make sure we had good screens on them to keep the mosquitoes out, especially at night. So far we're glad we haven't bought mosquito nets for the bed or baby crib. 
5. Expectation: We would spend tons of time on the beach! Reality: It's hard to go outside with a baby. It's really too hot, too sunny, and too humid to be out for very long with a baby. If we do go to the beach we have to stay in the shade and spray her with a water bottle when we are out, and she's terrified of the waves when we try to put her in the water. She's only 3 1/2 months so hopefully we can go to the beach more when she gets a little older. Also, I'm a medical student. I don't have time to go to the beach! I could just walk 5 min and study on the beach, but that might get a little distracting haha.
6. Expectation: We would go out to eat a lot since St. Maarten is known for it's wide variety of restaurants. Reality: We are a family of 3 and we can't afford to eat out all the time, especially when we're living off student loans haha. Also, like I just said, it's hard to get out with a 3 1/2 month old baby. 
7. Expectation: Lots of power outages. Reality: we have only been through a couple that lasted about 10 min. Maybe we'll see more. However, the other day our power went out for 4 hours! Since we were new and expecting power outages on the island we didn't think much of it, until 1 hour passed, then 2 hours, then we started noticing all of our neighbors lights turning on. We wondered if St. Maarten just had isolated power outages, or if we had reached a certain limit for the day and they shut us off haha. None of the breakers had flipped, so we called our landlord who got us in touch with the power company. They said someone was on their way. Another hour went by so we called them again. They reassured us that someone was on their way and would be there in 5 min...another hour passed! You can drive around the whole island in a couple of hours! Finally they showed up and come to find out we had blown the main fuse for our apartment, which should've never happened in the first place. The fuse we were working on was too small (according to the power guy) so he put in a bigger one which should've been there all along. But we did have a tender mercy, or a small blessing from the Lord, in that the fan on the AC worked! We had just enough power to work one thing in our apartment and we could work the fan on the AC! It wasn't cold, but it was better than standing hot air!
8. Expectation: Island Time. Reality: apparently 5 min means 2 hours! I was kinda expecting that though, especially after being in Argentina.
9. Expectation: Beautiful weather. Reality: It is beautiful! It's a little hotter and more humid than I expected, but I can't complain! It's in the 80's day and night (although it feels very nice at night). I wasn't expecting the random downpours that occur about every other day (at least at this time of the year). I hope that we never get a hurricane while we are here. One thing's for sure: I'm grateful for AC
10. Expectation: Pictures. Reality: Don't judge a book by it's cover. We saw beautiful pictures of our apartment, the school, cars, but they ended up being quite different than what we saw in the picture. Starting with the apartment, it looked like a dream house in the pictures. It had a beautiful view of the lagoon, spacious living room, master bedroom, washer/dryer. The lagoon view is still beautiful, but the pictures don't show the cramped bathroom, the awkward kitchen counter, etc. But, although it's not perfect, we still really like it! It took a couple of days to get used to, but I think after a couple years it will be hard to leave this place. Second, the pictures of the school make it look like a state-of-the-art clean and pristine medical school. The reality is had I seen the school before I accepted, I might not have come here. The infrastructure is a little worn down, the school is quite small, and it reminds me of a slightly run-down Jr. High. I hope the appearance of the school is meaningless compared to the instruction that I will receive here, and after talking to other students that seems to be the case. Compared to other Caribbean medical schools, this one is top notch. It is also very comparable to other state-side schools, and boasts a 100% USMLE Step 1 pass rate. It just lacks a little bit in outward appearance. Perhaps there is a lesson there, like the Lord says to Samuel, "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Third, definitely don't judge a car by it's picture. I test drove 2 cars that looked brand new in their pictures, but when I actually saw them they were battered in, paint falling off, and making strange noises. The car I finally bought isn't perfect, but it's head and shoulders above the others that I looked at and it's in the same price range. 
11. Expectation: speaking of cars, buying a car seemed quite simple. Reality: It's a lot more complicated than it seemed. I think the majority of students selling cars have no idea what they're talking about. Everyone said that the insurance, registration, and inspection comes with the car. Not true. I learned all of this the hard way. Luckily I bought the car from a guy who mostly knew what he was talking about. He gave me a bill of sale and told me to get my own insurance. However, he (and many others that I asked) told me that the registration and inspection also come with the car. What none of them realized was that you need to get it all in your name. In order to get it all in my name I had to get my own insurance, then get a special government stamp on the bill of sale to make it official. So I had to drive all the way to town and get the stamp (not to mention I was given poor "island style" directions. There's no such thing as left and right, instead it's "this way" or "that way"). Once I got the stamp I had to drive to the inspection office, get the inspection in my name, then drive back to where I got the stamp and get the registration in my name. Complicated. Seeing as cops here don't do much it probably doesn't matter too much if you get everything in your name or not, but there's always that small chance that they'll randomly pull you over or you get in a wreck. Better safe than sorry.
12. Expectation: on the car theme...terrible drivers. Reality: It's different, but compared to driving in Argentina, New York, or even California it's very mellow. Like I said, it's different. For example, since all of the roads are only 1 lane each way, when there is a lot of traffic (and sometimes when there isn't a lot of traffic), if someone is attempting a left turn it is courteous to stop and let them turn. It is also courteous to let people merge from off the road in front of you, even if you have to slow down almost to a complete stop to let them in. Although this is the courtesy, it doesn't always happen and sometimes you have to "push" your way in and force people to give you the "courtesy." If you are a timid driver, you might have to wait for an hour before anyone lets you in, but with a little "push" people will show you the courtesy. The bottom line: drive like a local. Also since the police don't do much as far as traffic violations go, the best enforcer of speed limits is the trusty speed bump. They're everywhere! Just when you think you have a clear patch of highway, BUMP! They don't really paint them either so you always have to watch out for them. And don't ever drive between 4:00 and 6:00 (+/- 1 hour) going towards Phillipsburg. Since it's only a 1 lane road, traffic is awful. It's backed up for miles. 
13. Expectation: A small LDS Branch. Reality: A small LDS Branch! It's great to know that you can go anywhere in the world and still find the Church. Although it's a small island with a small group of Saints, it is the same Gospel, the same ordinances, and the same organization. I know I have immediate friends and family anywhere I go. In fact, the Church is how we found our apartment! We got in contact with AUC's Spouses Organization who gave us a "sponsor" to help answer our questions before coming to the island. We mentioned to the Organization that we were members of the LDS Church, and they gave us sponsors who were AUC students and members of the Church as well! Our sponsors got us in touch with another couple who were AUC students and members of the Church who would be moving out of their apartment at the same time we were moving in. We saw this as a tender mercy and knew that the Lord was looking out for us.

Although medical school is quite intimidating at the moment, I know that I have support from my family back home, the Church here on the island, my wife and daughter, and most of all from my Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to the challenge, and look forward to the opportunity to dedicate my life to the service of others.